What The Ghost Found
by CalmSheJaguar
Summary: Sabine and Ezra had found the plans for the slave chips. But Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos has discovered Caleb, and has been ordered to find out what has happened to him. (Pre-TPM AU. The Ghost Abolitionists)
1. Of Sabine and Ezra

The alleyway Sabine and Ezra were hiding in was very dark for the fifteen-year-old. He assumed Sabine must have some sort of night-vision feature inside of her helmet, but Ezra could hardly see five feet back into the darkness. The road was perfectly visible, but hopefully people on the road wouldn't see them, or maybe think they were loth-cats or whatever the name of the local Tatooine street animal was. The smell of the garbage bins next to them he was used to, but the heat made the smell more pungent. Ezra's eyes were heavier then they usually were after this type of mission, the stress and heat were making him exhausted.

"I never thought the Depur would care so much about us stealing the schematics." Ezra's slightly sarcastic whisper was hardly louder than a loth-rat's squeak, in case one of the bounty hunters was nearby.

"Well apparently they don't want people figuring out how to get the chips out." Sabine said, sticking her helmet-protected head out from behind the dumpster she was crouched behind, checking the street for Gardulla's 'personal guard.' A robed man peered into the alleyway, causing Ezra to join the shadows even more. He stayed as still as possible, kept his breathing quiet and even, and focused on the man who had not yet noticed him and Sabine. The Force answered the summons, hiding the two in it's embrace. The man moved on.

"So, what's the plan now?"

"Working on one." Sabine's eyes darted around the alleyway.

"When will our missions go according to plan?" Ezra snapped.

"Chi tematta nel uttar nakin." Sabine spoke the language of slaves, Amatakka, a language Ezra was still learning. He mentally translated the words. 'When help from the core arrives.' Basically, 'when a loth-cat grows wings.'

"Bensa ebpali Amattaka?" A high-pitched voice stammered. Sabine and Ezra's heads jolted over to the shadows of the alleyway. A tattered green Twi'lek stood there, eyes widened in surprise. You, person, speak Amatakka?

Ezra's belly filled with fear. Had they been discovered already? His hands felt a bit wetter than they were a few seconds ago.

"Ei!" Sabine exclaimed, to Ezra's surprise. "Ek masa nu Sabine ku." _Yes. I am someone with Agency and Choice named Sabine. I am her._

Ezra was silent for a few seconds, before feeling Sabine elbow him a bit. "Ek masa nu Ezra ka?" _I am someone with Agency and Choice named Ezra. I am him._

"Ek masa nu Sachi ki." The Twi'lek responded. _I am someone with Agency and Choice named Sachi and I am they._

"We need help escaping from Depur," Sabine whispered in basic.

"I might know a place," Sachi replied warily. "Lukka?" _Freedom?_

"Nasa." Sabine paused, as if she was choosing her next words carefully. "Dusa kran Depur dep co dusa lukka." _No. We stole Depur's chain for all people's freedom._

Sachi looked around the alleyway. She beckoned Ezra and Sabine to follow them, before darting deeper into the alleyway.

"Can we trust them?"

"She knows Amattaka. We can't trust anyone more than them." Sabine calms walked

deeper into the shadows. Ezra scurried and followed.

The group walked past several store ways, garbage piles, and several small animals, which scurried into tiny cracks into the walls as the threesome walked past. They stopped at a small opening into a shop.

"Go in here and ask for Akar. Someone will show you a way out of the city, and to your lukka."

"Is there any way we can thank you?" Sabine asked. Sachi smiled, longing and sorrow etched onto their face.

"Remove the dep inside of us all." Sachi pointed to a tiny scar on their arm, where a slave chip would have entered. Ezra remembered seeing that tiny scar on many others, some they could save, many that they couldn't.

If not for luck, that scar would have been on his arm as well.

"We will," Sabine promised. "Dukkra ba dukkra." _Freedom or Death._ But only one word was used. Dukkra meant both freedom and death. Or the freedom of death. That all slaves died, so all would be free, someday.

"Go. Before Depur arrives." Sachi urged. "I'll hold the hunters off."

The barks and squeals of massiffs echoed in the alleyway. Someone shouted in Huttese, "Kankahnee see wata!" _Inside of here._

Sabine and Ezra raced into the doorway. Just before Sachi slammed the door, Ezra swore he heard a small whisper from behind them saying, "Dukkra ba dukkra."

….

The door had led into a private restroom, one clearly designed for humanoid species. A small, open-doored closet contained cloaks and several changes of clothes. Sabine slipped a cloak over her beskar. Ezra followed in a tan robe, hiding his bright orange clothing from view. His long blue hair was still in view, but Sabine couldn't complain, seeing as she wasn't going to take her helmet off. But that was why she had some temporary paint. Sabine spread the red muck all over, disguising the bright colors for a more bounty hunter look.

The duo walked calmly out of the restroom, emerging in a packed cantina. Dust and sand billowed among the aliens and humans drinking and laughing. A band of Geonosians were playing the latest popular Huttese song. Sabine and Ezra quietly slipped through the cantina. Sabine walked up to the bar. A dark-haired human was serving drinks to a school of drunk Quarren.

"'Scuse me," she asked in a gruff sounding voice, "but 'ave you 'eard of some fella called Akar?"

"Possibly." The human glanced around, before muttering in a small voice, "Why do you ask?"

"Depur is chasing us. We need to get out of the city." Sabine made her voice sound quiet and desperate. Sabine had always been good at manipulating things like that. The human's eyes narrowed.

"Hm. "The human turned back, and served a male twi'lek next to Ezra. "I could help you."

"Please." Ezra begged. The human looked at Ezra. Sabine's helmet covered her emotions quite well, but Ezra was wearing his heart on his face. Not a bad thing for the moment.

The human paused. "Tomorrow, at six turns, Tatooine time. The south gate won't be checked. Leave then."

"Thanks," Sabine said.

"Until then, go to the slave quarters. Ask for the grandmother. She will hide you until then. Now get out of my bar." The last bit was said with a growl.

Sabine and Ezra hurried out of the main entrance. The dusty Tatooine streets were filled with speeders, dewbacks, and many people walking on foot.

"Any idea where the slave quarters are?" Ezra asked Sabine.

"Yes. Follow the starving people." Sabine looked at a mother and a young boy walking. They had poor clothes and looked like it had been a while since they had a full meal. Sabine's innermost instincts told her to be disgusted at it. To be superior over lowly slaves. Sabine buried those feelings deep down. She wasn't holden to her old feelings anymore. Sabine had risen above her past, like a phoenix. She wasn't a Depur, she was free, like everyone should be. And if people weren't free, she had to help them, somehow.

Sabine led Ezra a healthy distance behind the two people. They soon turned into a much more decayed road. People there noticed them. They hid inside of their houses and gave them angry stares. Sabine and Ezra were outsiders. Or at least, appeared to be. Sabine whispered to Ezra, "This is it."

"Who should we talk to?" Ezra asked. Sabine noticed an older woman. She was staring them down, unafraid.

"Her. Speak in Amatakka."

Ezra nodded.

….

Ezra walked up to the old woman. Her hair was gray, her teeth as yellow as the sand. Her clothes were tattered rags, covered in stains and grit. Her skin was deep with wrinkles, telling of old age and hard work. But her eyes held the fierceness of Tatooine's twin suns, challenging him. She reminded Ezra of a character in a story Hera had told him once. An old legend of Tena the Unfettered, with one eye the black of freedom, and the other eye white with rage. And her skin was like a dragon.

"Am-Amu?" Ezra whispered. The women's eyebrows arched in surprise. "Ek masa nu Ezra ku. Dusa nuka Depur lukep." _Grandmother? I am someone with Agency and Choice named Ezra. I am him. We need to hide from Depur._

"Vikka. Ek lukep emasu." The grandmother smiled a toothy grin. _Child, I will hide you persons._

"Atesan." Ezra replied. _Thank you._

The grandmother led Sabine and Ezra to a small hut. "Hide in here. Depur never thinks slaves can hide. How long?"

"Tomorrow. At six turns. We need to be at the South Gate," Sabine answered.

"We also need to contact our captain," Ezra reminded Sabine.

"That should be fine," The grandmother said, "just be quiet."

"Thank you Am-amu," Sabine said.

The grandmother padded out of the house, a small limp to her step. She wouldn't be useful for much longer. The grandmother shut the door, pulling back the rock which usually blocked the entrance.

Depur always made many mistakes.

 **Thank you to Fialleril, for the language of Amatakka, and thank you to Kyber13 for being a beta reader for this story!**


	2. On the Ghost

Hera was slightly frustrated at how the mission had gone, but was relieved at Sabine and Ezra being safe. Gardulla the Hutt was not someone to take from lightly, and if Hera wasn't extremely confident in Sabine and Ezra's abilities as her crew, she wouldn't have sent them. That knowledge still didn't help Kanan or her try to cope with the frustration of having two crew members out. Zeb had cooped himself up in his room, like usual, a plate of space-waffles nearby.

"Love, will you stop pacing." Hera glanced at Kanan from her cup of caf. He was walking back and forth, like a caged bantha. "It won't get Ezra and Sabine back any faster."

Kanan sighed deeply. "I know. I just can't help but worry about them. What if Ezra forgets something?"

"Then Sabine will help him remember whatever it is he forgot." Hera smiled, trying to get Kanan to cheer up. She had seen these types of people back on Ryloth, before the thing she doesn't think about happened. They needed support, especially someone like Kanan; all he could do was worry.

Hera didn't remember much of Ryloth. What she did remember, she almost wished she could forget. Her mother's death, trying to defend Hera, her uncles' grief at all they lost, and the slave ships the Republic would never stop. She had grown up on legends of the Jedi. When she first met a real Jedi, all she did was give Hera excuses on why they couldn't save her younger brother, who was still trapped in slavery. He was why she left Ryloth, and why she fought today.

"I still could've helped them somehow!" Kanan continued pacing slightly faster now.

"Yes, but you are too big to slip in through the airvents. Sabine could hardly fit through it as it was." Hera reminded Kanan of why they couldn't tag along. Especially not Zeb. Hera suppressed a smile at seeing Zeb trying to crawl through an airvent. He'd probably get stuck and have to call out about him being the last of his village. (At least the last free being, but that was another thing Hera didn't think about.)

"I know Hera. I just can't help but worry."

"Master's responsibility?"

"Well... wait I'm... I'm not Ezra's master! He can do what he wants to do. I'm just teaching him how to use some of his force abilities since the Jedi would never do it. I'm still not a Jedi. I left the order, remember?"

"Well, based on what I know of you, Kanan Jarrus, if you aren't a Jedi, then they must a bunch of fools." Humour was the best way to defuse a situation like this. When sentients laughed, their doubts and insecurities would often run down a tiny bit. Not much, but it was a start. Especially for a person like Kanan. She loved him, but he could be irritating at times. Especially with his constant insistence that he was not training Ezra to be a Jedi. Hera bet that if they ever had a Jedi who was part of the order come on the Ghost, (which she was sure Kanan would never let happen) Hera was sure that they would call Kanan Ezra's Jedi master.

Hera took a deep sip of her caf. She absolutely despised its smell, but she wasn't going to get any sleep until Ezra and Sabine were back. And it was either with caf, meaning she could function normally, or her body wouldn't be tired and she would be more worried than a schutta trapped in a herd of gutkurrs. "Why don't you meditate?" Hera suggested, "that usually calms you down."

"Fine." Kanan stalked off towards his room, his footsteps disappearing once the door was closed.

One problem out of the way, Hera could focus again on worrying about Sabine and Ezra and how much she would kill them for making her feel this way.

Kanan will be the first to admit he hasn't been the best person in his life. When he was still Caleb Dume, he might have been, but that had all changed after what happened so many years ago. Kanan still couldn't see how Hera thought of him as a Jedi. Yes, he was teaching Ezra how to use the force, a tiny bit, but that didn't mean he would ever be a Jedi again. There were other, more qualified Jedi to do the whole 'lightsaber thing' around. Jedi who weren't complete and total cowards. (Jedi who weren't going around freeing outer rim slaves and probably never gave a thought of it in their rich core-worlder lives, but that thought never left Kanan's subconscious mind.)

Kanan convinced himself that he still only practiced meditation with the force since it was to only way he could convince himself Ezra was safe and sound (through a Master/Padawan bond, the part of him that was still Caleb Dume insisted.) Kanan sat on the back of his legs, straightening his posture, like Master Yoda had always told them to. Closing his eyes, Kanan slipped into the force.

 _Emotion, yet peace.  
_  
Kanan slipped deeper into the bright light of the force.

 _Ezra.  
_  
It was almost blinding, the force being was as bright as a supernova.

 _Ezra?  
_  
The powerful mind brushed up against Kanan's mind.

 _Who are you?_

Kanan didn't know how to respond to that. Who was that voice? Why was it familiar to Caleb?

 _I am a Jedi. Who are you?_

The mind felt familiar. Force users could recognize each other in the force. A presence felt so long ago, or only yesterday.

 _Several other younglings were playing a game. Kanan couldn't remember its name. They were all chasing around a ball, when one of the children happened to touch it. He was immediately on the floor, curled into a ball. Caleb ran to him, trying to help him._

" _Oof. I'm fine I'm fine." The boy had a yellow tattoo on his face._

" _What happened?" Caleb asked, outstretching a hand, helping the boy up._

" _Psychometry. Runs in my family, apparently." Caleb was immediately filled with a million questions. "What's your name?"_

" _Caleb Dume."_

" _Hey! My name is..." a comlink beeped, causing the boy to jump. "Oh, sorry. I have to go. See ya?"_

" _See you." Caleb never saw the boy again.  
_

Kanan jolted out of the memory.

 _Caleb? You're alive? I thought- everyone thinks you're dead.  
_  
Caleb is dead, Kanan replied. I'm only what remains.

 _Caleb, or whatever you call yourself now, you can come back. No one blames you for Kaller. I'll answer those questions you mentioned._

I haven't exactly been a model Jedi. Kanan laughed inside his head.

 _And yet, you have a padawan._

Kanan froze.

 _He still needs to learn shielding. I'd vouch for him, I can tell he's quite power-_

Stay away from me and Ezra, Kanan hissed, The Jedi don't need me.

Kanan forced himself awake. The small imprint Quinlan had left on his mind was still there. It needed to get out. As Caleb Dume, Jedi Padawan, it would've been accepted. But Kanan was not Caleb. They may share the same body, but Caleb was a Jedi, Kanan only embraced the parts of the force he needed to keep alive, and to train Ezra. He only even touched his lightsaber when training Ezra. (But is that enough? Ezra is powerful. Maybe he needed to open the holocron again.)

(The Jedi could help. Kaller wasn't his fault.)

(Sure, Kanan's had some 'missteps' but he was doing more to help the outer rim then any Jedi.)

("Run!" Caleb's master screamed. They were surrounded on all sides.

"Now, Jedi," he spat, "you will die!"

His master activated her lightsaber, slicing down several of their assailants, but more kept coming. But then Caleb could do what he has always done as Kanan since. Run.)

Kanan shut the voices in his head out. All Kanan needed was sleep.

Meditation was for Caleb, anyway.

 **Beta reading done by Kyber13, thank you!**


	3. The Ship Chatter

Ezra and Sabine woke up at four turns, or around three am in standard time. Sabine noted they had about a half hour to get to their destination. There were fifty turns in a Tatooine day. Sabine knew more than that, but her brain was too tired to recall all the information she learned from the hutts.

As horrible as they had been, it had made Sabine grow up quicker and smarter than almost anyone on the crew, barring Kanan.

But Kanan was always the outlier. (Maybe even among the Jedi.)

The grandmother wasn't there when Sabine and Ezra snuck out of the hut. Sabine wished she had gotten a chance to thank her again, but what has happened, has happened.

Sabine adjusted her helmet slightly as she and Ezra prepared to sneak out of the city. Not many people were awake this time of morning. The drunks were either passed out or actually asleep, and the suns of Tatooine were barely peeking over the horizon, illuminating where illegal deals might have taken place underneath the watchful and (slightly) bribed noses of the Hutt's guards.

Sabine and Ezra stepped quietly through the streets, trying not to draw attention to themselves in the quiet hours of the very early day.

The walk through the dusty streets didn't take very long, and soon Sabine and Ezra arrived at the South Gate. It was six turns. True to the man's word, the Gate was empty. Sabine and Ezra stride out of the city, keeping their eyes forward, like they belonged here.

"Maybe this will actually go according to plan!" Ezra muttered.

"Don't count on it." Sabine couldn't remember the last time something didn't go wrong. Maybe with Ketsu? No, even then. The hutts? Maybe, but Sabine didn't think about that. Sabine ignored most of her past.

Only one other person was walking out of the gate at this hour. A human, hidden in his robes. The only distinct feature Sabine could make out was a bright yellow line streaking across his face.

Sabine didn't take too long to look at the man. It was easier and safer for both her and Ezra if they didn't raise any suspicion from anyone. Sabine hoped she could simply walk out of the gate, according to plan. But do things ever go according to plan?

Sabine surprised herself when the walk out of the gate proved no trouble. No hutt guards were following them, no one. "Ezra, do you see anyone?"

"No," Ezra replied, a bit surprised. "Seems the plan actually didn't go up in smoke."

"Do you still have the plans?"

"Yes. Safe as ever."

"Well, this went better than usual."

"Maybe our luck has finally turned around," Ezra suggested. Sabine snorted.

"Don't count on it."

Neither Sabine nor Ezra noticed the man with the yellow streak on his face following them back the few miles to where the Ghost was hidden next to a small oasis.

Quinlan Vos had been assigned to Tatooine to help clear up a problem with some local smugglers who claimed to be selling kyber crystal. Kyber could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, if not for dangerous lightsabers, (the darksaber had caused many years of war when the Mandalorians had first taken it.) but for many other horrible weapons. Quinlan wouldn't even be surprised if someone figured out how to destroy a planet with kyber.

Quinlan had been meditating after his first successful mission when he had noticed a force-sensitive presence nearby. Quinlan was surprised at how powerful it was in the Force. Quinlan had followed it back to a boy and girl hiding in an alleyway. When he looked with normal eyes, Quinlan could see nothing, but when he looked with the Force, he saw a Force-presence like that of a padawan. The boy was hiding the duo with the Force and was exceptionally good at it. What was surprising, however, was that the boy had a training bond. The only question was, with who?

Quinlan had met a dark Jedi in his time, one with an apprentice. That poor girl had been filled with the dark side and the bond, usually shared by two force-wielders, had been much more one-sided. This child was filled with the light-side, meaning he had light-side training. And the question again popped up in Quinlan's mind. Who?

Quinlan went back to his small house he had rented for this mission. After meditating, the answer was clear to Quinlan. The legendary Caleb Dume was still alive. The padawan everyone had mourned, thought dead in what had happened on Kaller, (still classified to all but the Jedi Masters, but Quinlan had gotten a pretty clear image of what it contained after seeing one master vomit.)

Quinlan only had met Caleb for a short time but had never forgotten it after hearing what happened.

But Caleb was alive, and even had a padawan! And now the question of who taught the boy (Ezra, Caleb had mentioned) had lead to many new questions. If Caleb was still alive, why didn't he come back to the Jedi? And how did he survive? Quinlan decided to call the occasionally wise fools on the Jedi Council. This was worth risking his mission for.

A hologram of Mace Windu appeared. Mace Windu was usually the one projected when all the council couldn't be. Quinlan hoped his request for the full council to be convened anyway had been fulfilled.

"Quinlan Vos. We got your message. What happened on Tatooine?"

"Master Windu," Quinlan dipped his head slightly in a gesture of respect. (He may not agree with the whole council, but they still deserved some respect. He'd wait till he was older to outright defy them, like Qui-Gon.) "While I was meditating today, I came across another presence in the Force.":

"Unexpected, but not reason enough to call us here."

Quinlan continued, ignoring Mace. "It was a boy. He was consciously using the Force. He also had a training bond."

Quinlan could hear the voices of the other council members murmuring amongst themselves.

Mace's face, as usual, gave nothing away. "Do you know who held the other half?"

"Yes. I connected with another presence in the Force. I fully believe the person to be the old padawan, Caleb Dume."

Quinlan thought he saw an emotion resembling shock on Mace's face. The next time he blinked, it was gone. Mace spoke in his hesitating voice. "Caleb Dume has been presumed dead for fourteen years, Knight Vos. Are you certain?"

"As certain as I'm speaking to you, Master Windu," Quinlan said.

"So, Caleb Dume not only survived Kaller, where my former padawan was confirmed to have died, but escaped off of the planet, and hid for fourteen years, during that time he took a padawan? Why didn't he return to the order?"

"I am not sure."

"How is your mission with the kyber shipment going?"

"I would say it is close to completion. I'm still confirming it, but it appears the kyber was a scam."

"Knight Vos, we will send another investigator in your place. Your new mission is to investigate this person claiming to be Caleb Dume. Discover how he escaped Kaller, as well as why he didn't return. And make sure he hasn't turned dark. If needed to, save the padawan."

"Understood." The holoimage of Mace Windu faded, leaving the room dark.

Quinlan couldn't believe it. They wanted him to track down Caleb Dume, who clearly does not want to be found, and what? Convince him to return to the order? "The Council is kriffing stupid at times."

But they were still the council, so Quinlan made plans of how to follow Ezra and the other girl out of the city to where Caleb was hiding. Quinlan would figure the rest of his plan out when he came to it.

 **Thank you to Kyber13 for beta reading this story! Please if you are reading this, send a review. It really helps me (** _continue_ _my world domination_ **) know if people actually like this story!**


	4. Zeb, Hera, and Him

The Ghost had been a several hour walk away. Ezra and Sabine were exhausted by the time they got to the small oasis where the Ghost had been parked. Hera didn't press them for information about the mission; instead, she gave them each a big glass of water and sent them straight to bed. The kids had fallen asleep almost instantly. No matter how much time on a mission you might get to sleep, it never was enough to make you not be tired by the time it was over.

Hera knew that from when she flew the Ghost alone. She could only take on one or two smaller missions, most of them were for money or food. The few times she got a chance to help her people, she could only make a small impact. A destroyed slaver ship here, a small band of slaves disappearing over there. Until Kanan had come in and helped her use the Ghost to its full potential, leading to where Hera was right now, fingering the complete plans of multiple slave chips across the Outer Rim, a chance to permanently disable them easily. To help the people, her people, free themselves and others.

Zeb sat next to her, his right leg quivering in excitement like it always did. (When you got that close to someone, you recognized tells like that.) "Well Hera, plug it in."

"I've already downloaded a copy into Chopper's memory banks. It's best to wait for an in-depth analysis with Sabine, she knows more about these things." Hera replied. She could feel a slight headache coming on, it was past time for her to take a tooka-nap. That was better taken in hyperspace, however, then here on Tatooine.

Besides, they still needed to find some work. They were low on credits, which meant that soon they would be low on everything else. Tatooine was not the place for a female twi'lek to try and find work. They'd have to try jumping back to Lothal, see if Vizago had anything. Or send Kanan around to see if anyone had some smuggling they needed to get done.

"Hera? He-era." Zeb waved a fist over Hera's face.

"Oh, sorry Zeb. Just lost in thought."

"About the credits?" Zeb was smarter than most beings gave him credit for.

"We need to find work, or the Ghost won't be able to fly." Hera stretched and suppressed a yawn.

"And you need to find sleep, or you won't be able to fly," Zeb countered. "You're running on old caf steam."

Hera glances at her cup of caf, and at the pot she had almost fully drunk. "True and it's not like a job will just come to us right now."

A loud knock echoed in the Ghost. Hera knew her ship, and that could only come from outside. "Someone's outside of the Ghost."

"Well," Zeb grabbed his bo-rifle, holding it in its rifle mode. Hera had to admit it was a terrifying weapon. "Let's go see who it is."

Hera had a slightly bad feeling about this.

When Quinlan saw that ship, he fell in love. It was a beautiful ship, one great for smuggling. A VCX-100 light freighter, with what was clearly a custom paint job. Quinlan had seen a few of them, and he could see a few modifications, that most likely weren't allowed in the Republic. Quinlan could only hope his plan would work.

Quinlan had decided on the long walk to the ship, to find the captain (Caleb or someone else?) and hire the ship to take him to Coruscant, reporting back to the Jedi temple of what he discovered about Caleb and Ezra during that time. All Quinlan needed to do was knock.

Quinlan checked his mental shields, making sure he wasn't showing he was force-sensitive. That would definitely tip Caleb off, especially with how their minds connected during meditation. The yellow tattoo Quinlan couldn't change, but since his first meeting with Caleb, it had been modified to be larger. Quinlan could tell Caleb hadn't remembered his face right, so that would hopefully throw him off, as well as the hairstyle and clothes.

Quinlan had hidden his lightsaber deep in his bag. If they searched it, it would look like some spare parts. That design had gotten Quinlan through quite a few inspections by bounty hunters, even those familiar with Jedi. Quinlan walked up to the VCX's rear door and rapped his hand against it. Now to see who answered.

Zeb tapped in the code to open the Ghost's rear door. Hera had taken a firm position in the middle of the entrance, with her blaster in hand. Zeb knew Gardulla's bogans would probably have simply busted in, but it paid to be careful. The rear door lowered itself to reveal a shaggy-looking human standing a respectable distance away. At least, Zeb thought he looked shaggy. Humans were always hard to tell.

Hera stepped forward, confidence in her every stride. "Who are you?"

"Quinlan," the man replied, "I saw your ship."

"I noticed." Hera's voice was slightly cold and wary. The man continued, almost like he was ignoring Hera's comment.

"I've been looking for passage off Tatooine, preferably without the Hutt's knowledge."

"So are a lot of people," Zeb growled, allowing the human to see his bo-rifle. Most people who would do Hera harm were usually scared off by the sight of Zeb.

"Please. I need to get to Coruscant. I can pay five thousand credits up front!" Quinlan's voice sounded desperate.

Hera inhaled slightly. Zeb knew that that many credits would really help the Ghost out. But was it worth risking passage for a random person?

Hera seemed to have the same doubts. "Let me talk it over with my crew. If you can be here at 0900 standard, I'll give you my answer," Hera offered.

"That's reasonable." Quinlan nodded. "See you tomorrow?"

"See you," Zeb growled. The man turned away and started striding across the dunes, to where, Zeb had no clue.

"That was… unexpected." Hera looked at Zeb. Zeb grunted in accord.

A few hours later, after the late meal, Hera brought up the job offer to her crew.

"So, a random guy came up to you," Kanan started.

"Offered you a job," Sabine continued for him.

"And you want to know what we think of it?" Kanan finished.

"Hera, we have no room for an extra passenger," Sabine said. "Zeb and Ezra are already sharing. We only have four bedrooms."

"I've thought it over, and it's possible for Sabine and I to share a room temporarily if Kanan wouldn't mind taking my room."

"Why can't the guy just take your room?" Ezra asked.

"I know." Sabine rolled her eyes, echoing what had been said to her many times over by Hera. "'Classified materials.'"

"I've looked it over, and Kanan's room has the least amount of material that could compromise us. Zeb and Ezra would be impractical to move, Sabine, you have plenty of explosives that would be frowned upon by our... guest and I have items that could reveal our connection to the Freedom Fighters. Kanan just needs to move his holocron and lightsaber and we should be good to go."

Kanan thought for a moment. "So, we can house the guy. What about food, water, safety in case he tries to attack us?"

"We'll provide water and food. Zeb has already agreed to keep an eye on him. We can lock the outside terminals down to prevent highjacking and monitor communications off of the Ghost to make sure he doesn't contact any 'friends' of his. And we outnumber him, six to one."

"Well, I think it's a good idea," Ezra said.

"You just want to take time off of Jedi training." Kanan accused, a small smirk on his face.

"Hey, there are like tens of thousands of Jedi. I'm sure the Force won't mind if one of them takes a break."

"How much is he paying?" Sabine asked.

"5000 credits," Hera replied. Sabine whistled.

"Someone must be desperate."

"It would really help our credit flow." Kanan nodded.

"So, do we all agree?" Hera asked. A chorus of 'yes' 'bleep-bloop' 'sure' followed. "Then it's settled. We leave tomorrow morning."

Hera stood up, prepared to go to sleep. "Wait, Hera."

"What?" Hera asked Ezra.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Ezra asked. Hera hesitated.

"Coruscant," She replied. Kanan's eyes widened slightly. Hera quickened her stride slightly, getting out before Kanan could protest. Hera knew Kanan could be… touchy about going into even the Mid Rim. The Mid Rim was part of the Republic, meaning Jedi might find him. Going to the Core Worlds, and Coruscant, of all places, might seem like a death sentence, figuratively. Coruscant was the home of the Jedi, and so the home of everything Kanan has tried to run from his whole life.

Hera knew that the Ghost wouldn't stay in the Outer Rim forever. Work was more prevalent in the Mid Rim and Expansion regions. Hera didn't know how Kanan would react to jumping in the deep end of Coruscant right away.

She hoped it wouldn't break him.

 **My amazing editor, Kyber13, will be unavailable, so the next batch of chapters will take a while longer. Not to mention I have yet to comepletely write them! Thank you for reading so far, and please review!**


End file.
